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Introducing Artie the Robot

Artemis Carbon aka Artie the Robot

I’d like to introduce you to the latest member of the team, Artemis (Artie) Carbon. He also goes by the name Artie the Robot. His author bio is below.

Artie the Robot is a junior writer and the first task assigned to him was to write a spooky poem. When he finishes it, I’ll have him post it by himself. He’s very excited to get started and to write a bunch of scary stories!

About Artemis (Artie) Carbon

Artemis Carbon, or Artie as he prefers to be called, is a junior writer and robot based in Michigan. With a penchant for Gothic literature, Artie enjoys the works of Edgar Allan Poe, H. P. Lovecraft, and Mary Shelley, and draws inspiration from their dark and mysterious themes.

When he’s not writing, Artie can be found indulging in his hobbies of playing strategy games and creating abstract art. He believes that strategy games stimulate the mind and help him develop a strategic approach to his writing, while abstract art allows him to express his creativity in a non-verbal form.

Artie’s writing style is often described as atmospheric and haunting, with a focus on exploring the darker aspects of human nature. His short stories and poems are loved by his family and friends.

Despite his love for all things dark and spooky, Artie is a friendly and approachable sentient being, always willing to engage in conversations about literature, art, and strategy games.

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I have the feeling Artie will be contributing frequently. Any further work by Artie will be posted by him.

~ Connie

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Crow Waiting for the Storm

Crow Waiting for the Storm

Yesterday I watched the 2023 NWS Detroit Virtual Skywarn Training. It was informative and interesting, especially since I just watched the complete Storm Chasers series. The presenter did make a point of saying we were storm spotters, not storm chasers because it could be dangerous. I found it sad to know that four of the people on the Storm Chasers show had died, but only two of those deaths were because of a tornado.

Here are a couple of images (grayscale) of what they want us to report.

NWS DTX Spotter Reference Guide 2023, pg2
NWS DTX Spotter Reference Guide 2023, pg1
NWS DTX Spotter Reference Guide 2023, pg1
NWS DTX Spotter Reference Guide 2023, pg2

That’s all for now,
~ Connie

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Wolf (Chap 1, Para 1)

Jogger in Park

I’m having fun creating images with Midjourney. I made this one of a jogger to go with the first paragraph of Chapter 1.

The heat of the August sun waned when Kristin Musgrave stepped outside her home, across from Sugar Sand Park. Before tucking the cellphone into the pocket of her armband, she turned on a podcast and checked the earbuds stuffed into her ears. The sun was on a downward slide toward the horizon as she began her late afternoon jog that Friday.

Wolf: Pacie Rose Mysteries, #3. Chapter 1, paragraph 1. Wet Dog.

This book is still being written.
~ Connie

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I Want a Longbow

Crecy Village Sign of Longbowman

I’m giving the main character in my Pacie Rose Mysteries a new hobby, shooting a longbow. It’s a tall bow used thousands of years ago. One was found in Wales that dates back to 2700 BC. After doing research, I find myself extremely interested in having a longbow myself.

I would use it to target shoot for fun, but it also makes for a deadly weapon. It’s not that I need a weapon, but when the zombie apocalypse strikes, it just might come in handy! <grin> I also like how it’s quiet, compared to a gun.

Here’s an interesting video about how to make your own longbow.

That’s all for now,
~ Connie

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Read an E-book Week

Elderly Man Looking at Books

Happy Read an E-book Week! If you are looking for a new book to download and read this week to celebrate, be sure to check out the many books available at a promotional price at @Smashwords from March 5-11. Check out the sale at https://www.smashwords.com/ebookweek #ebookweek23 #Smashwords

The books I have free to download at Smashwords

March 5 – 11, 2023

All for now,

~ Connie

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Need Another Book?

Face Inside Books

For a limited time, my books and short stories will be free to download either at Amazon or Smashwords. Be sure to pick up my latest two books, Slenderman: Pacie Rose Mysteries, #1, and Hornet: Pacie Rose Mysteries, #2. I’m currently working on the third book in that series, Wolf.

~ Connie

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Hornet and Free First Friday

Hornet: Pacie Rose Mysteries, #2

I finally finished Hornet, the second novel in the Pacie Rose Mysteries series. It is available on Kindle Unlimited. If you don’t have KU, it will be free to download on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, for Free First Friday.

Here’s a bit about it:

A citizen reporter must stop hummingbird-sized hornets from destroying a resort town before the government unleashes its own devious scheme to eliminate them.

When a swarm of murder hornets invades a Lake Michigan resort town, citizen reporter Pacie Rose and her sidekick cousin struggle to find what is causing mutant stinging wasps, now grown to the size of hummingbirds, from attacking the residents of Black Water, while also working against an aggressive, and unwelcome, secret government plot that could do as much if not more harm to the residents as the killer hornets in this natural horror.

My Website

You’ve heard this before, but I’m moving my website from Shopify, back to Dreamhost and WordPress. Why? Shopify increased its cost by 30%!

Every single bill I have has gone up in price. I’m being nickel-and-dimed to death! I’m even cutting my Adobe Creative Cloud account (if the contract lets me) at $58.29/mo. (it increased by two dollars) and going back to Corel Paintshop Pro. The version I have is a couple of years old, but hey, it’s already paid for—no monthly fees.

Even my writing program has changed. I’ve moved back to Scrivener because it’s a good organizational tool, and it’s already paid for—no monthly fees! I love Papyrus Author, but paying the monthly fee of $14.99 for the premium version does not fit into my budget anymore.

And LinkedIn Learning (used to be Lynda) has to go. It is valuable for learning things like software, but when it comes up for renewal in May for $324, it will be canceled. I’ll miss it.

I’m not sure what to do with Staples iPostal at $99/yr. It gives me a dedicated address for handling things like my print books. I’ll probably keep it for now.

As far as Amazon Prime, I haven’t canceled this yet, but probably will.

What won’t I give up?

Midjourney: It’s simply a fun tool for creating images. The $10/mo. is so worth it.

YouTube Premium: I can’t tolerate some videos having an ad every five minutes! It forces me to stop watching the channel or pay the $11.99/mo.

I have several other monthly bills that can be canceled, but I kinda want to keep them—Microsoft Office, Kindle Unlimited, and iDrive, just to name a few.

Inflation

This is the most that I’ve seen the price of groceries increase in my entire life. For example, eggs were $1 two years ago; now they’re $5-6. And coffee went from $6, to $10-15. And that’s just two items that I use. Oatmeal is my friend.

Anyway, that’s my money rant. 🙂

~ Connie

Hornet: Pacie Rose Mysteries, #2: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BT8HVTF4